Against all odds
by heartbroken-kitsune
Summary: Arthur thought it'd be just a normal errand, get the boat his late jerk father left him and go home, but he'd been very wrong. Asa-Kiku don't kill me I can't take this seriosly but I still love it and I hope you guys do too please read    M for later chpt
1. first impressions

DAY 1

Ok, I'm usually a usuk fan but me and my friend were rp and she rp's Japan and I rp England and we were rp and I couldn't help but make this from our rp. I hope you like it, it's my second fanfic. But my first one like this i.e. almost a series, so I'd LOVE it if you readers gave me some feedback! Good and bad I like to know where I go wrong so I can correct it next time and get better at it. Anyways enjoy! I own nothing sadly!

Arthur sighed as he walked along the beach. He was on his way to pick up the boat his father left him in his will from the docks where it had stayed the last three years. Arthur was surprised his father had even left it to him. Probly only left it to him because he was the eldest son that the man had contact with and knew how to care for it. Or it was broken or something. But he honestly thought that his father was going to leave it to the second youngest and his favorite; Alfred. Ever since Arthur's parent's claimed he was schizophrenic he spent most of his time indoors with his mother and youngest brother Mathieu and his father all but disowned him. Arthur was so lost in thought as he combed the beach he almost didn't see a man floating in the shallows. Looking around to find no one else in sight that could see if the man was alright so he decided to go over himself and help. Kneeling beside the man he poked his arm.

"Um, are you alright?" Arthur asked, but the man just rolled over, swatting Arthur's hand away in the process. But what Arthur saw as the man rolled over he couldn't believe! He saw that the "man" had a tail like a fish!

"…Go away…" he said sleepily. Arthur was standing again in seconds, his head reeling at what he was seeing. A merman? What the hell? Taking a deep breath Arthur forced himself to keep calm.

"Fine. I just wanted to help." The merman's eyes snapped open at Arthur's words. Taking in his surroundings and Arthur's closeness he began to panic, clawing desperately at the sand trying to get further into the shallows. But Arthur wasn't having that.

"Wait! I know a faster way for you to get back!" he called as he grabbed the merman's crimson tail and was holding on for dear life as said merman was nearly dragging Arthur into the shallows with him. But the merman stopped struggling when he heard Arthur mention a faster way back home. He looked at Arthur who was still holding onto his tail like his life depended on it.

"You do?" he asked Arthur, unsure if he could trust him. Arthur sighed and loosened his grip on the merman's tail.

"Yes. If you just tell me your name and where I need to go I can get my father's boat and I can take you back that way." The merman didn't like the idea of trusting the human, but it seemed like the best way to get home so he had no choice.

"Kiku. And how do I know I can trust you?" Arthur sighed.

"I'm one of the few humans who you CAN trust, let alone see you. Not a lot of humans can see creatures like you I'm afraid." Kiku really didn't like having to trust him, but the human did have a point.

"I'll guide you there but that's all. And you have to promise not to tell anyone anything." Arthur nodded.

"I promise. Thankfully we're close to the docks so let me just take these off." Arthur took off his shoes and socks; rolling up his pants he treaded the water signaling that Kiku follow him. When they got to the boat Arthur reached over the side and pulled out a bucket and fills it with water and shoved it onto the dock. When that was done he did his best to lift Kiku up and into the boat. After Kiku was safely in the boat Arthur climbed up onto the dock, grabbing the bucket he stepped into the boat with Kiku.

"Wait just one second and I'll be right back with a little pool and some rope okay?" Arthur called as he went below deck, soon returning with the items mentioned earlier. He used the rope to tie down the kiddie pool then started filling it with water using the bucket.

"My father used to use this to put the bigger fish he caught in this, so it may smell a little but other than that it should be okay." Arthur sighed when he was done filling the pool and then went to go help Kiku into the pool. "This should make things a little more comfortable for you." Kiku tried not to lean on Arthur too much as he slid into the small pool. It wasn't quite big enough to fit him completely and the sides hurt to lean on, but at least he'd be in water. Kiku sighed when he entered the water, the coolness of it felt good after being out of water for longer than usual. Kiku tried to get comfortable while Arthur went to the front of the boat and tried to start it. It took a few tries but the boat sputtered to life and the odd pair were off.

"Any turns I need to know about?" Arthur yelled back to Kiku.

"H-hai! Turn that way" Kiku shouted back, pointing to the right.

"Alright, hold on, this thing never likes to turn!" Kiku held on to the side of the boat for dear life as the boat jerked hard to the right. Kiku wanted off the boat as soon as possible, he didn't like the noise it made, nor did he like the fact that he'll need help just to get out again. But even if he didn't like it, the human was keeping his word, and he wasn't asking any personal questions. So like it or not Kiku was begging to trust him…just a little.

"Anything else?" Arthur called again, snapping Kiku from his train of thought.

"H-hai, stop about here"

"Alright" Arthur toyed with the boat's controls and jerked it to a screeching halt. By the time he'd stopped the boat Kiku was already trying to haul himself over the side of the boat, but couldn't quite make it so Arthur decided to give him a little help and lift him so Kiku was sitting on the side of the boat.

"Oh. I never introduced myself did I? I'm Arthur. Arthur Kirkland." Kiku nodded, sliding off the side of the boat. "Can I ask you a question?" Arthur asked when Kiku surfaced again.

"Hai." Arthur scratched the back of his head, not quite sure how to ask.

"Well, I was wondering…how did you get to shore? A-asleep no less." Kiku was unfazed by Arthur's seemingly odd question.

"Well I swam there, I was just lying in the shallows and I guess I fell asleep and then you found me and here we are." Arthur laughed.

"Yes. Here we are indeed." Kiku couldn't help but smile hearing Arthur laugh. It was different from the way he'd heard humans laugh before, cackling at their latest catch of fish, dolphins, and the occasional merperson. 'But then they couldn't tell merpeople from fish could they?' Kiku thought

"Well arigato for taking me back Arthur-san. Sayonara"

"W-wait! U-uh do, do you think we, could talk. Again?" Arthur asked just before Kiku was going to dive under the waves. Kiku turned and looked up at Arthur curiously. "Well, er, I mean, I never really get to talk to many people, let alone a merperson so I, I was just wondering." Kiku smiled. He wasn't used to seeing so much emotion from humans; actually he wasn't used to interacting with humans too much in general.

"I suppose. I do owe you a favor for taking me home. I'll be on the beach again tomorrow if you wish to talk." Arthur was leaning over the side of the boat, smiling happily and no longer embarrassed.

"I'll be there! B-but I don't think you should be out in the open like that again. Who knows what might happen to you should someone else find you there, especially if you fall asleep again." Arthur patronized Kiku.

"Hai. Don't worry I have a hiding spot amongst the rocks along the shore." Kiku soothed, turning to swim off.

"A-alright I'll, I'll be there! W-whaaa" Arthur called, waving his hand in goodbye, but was leaning too far over the edge and fell into the cold ocean water. Arthur struggled to surface at first, he wasn't used to swimming so deep in the ocean but he got his bearings after he coughed up the seawater that had invaded his nose and mouth and was able to swim.

"W-whoa! Ha, I guess I'm swimming now!" Arthur laughed when he looked at the shocked expression on Kiku's face before he composed himself.

"Will you need help getting back on the boat?" Kiku asked, swimming over to Arthur who was only barely floating against the never ending waves.

"I-I will when I get out, but it'd be a w-waste to fall in on-nly to get b-back in. a-and I'll j-just be colder t-than I am in h-here because of my c-clothes." Kiku looked at Arthur, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.

"I never thought of that. Well I never truly where clothes so I wouldn't know." Arthur laughed.

"No I suppose you wouldn't!" Arthur coughed up another mouthful of seawater, trying desperately not to throw up. "B-but I do wish this was f-freshwater! M-my stomach doesn't like ocean water at all!" Kiku's brow furrowed in question.

"What to do you mean 'doesn't like'" Kiku asked swimming ever closer to Arthur and the boat.

"I-well, I-no most humans- can't drink saltwater, it makes us sick. When I ingest salt water, my body forces it and all the contents in my stomach out through my mouth." Kiku made a face of disgust, the thought of having to do that just because saltwater was in your system was beyond him. "Disgusting, I know but that's how the human body works. When it ingests something it doesn't like or too much of something it forces our bodies to get rid of it." Arthur was shivering by now from the cold of the ocean's waters, but he didn't want to leave. He was having fun, Kiku was the first person he'd met that didn't make fun of him for being pale, or his eyebrows or because he believed in mythical creatures. But Kiku noticed Arthur's shivering, noting it with caution.

"Are you alright?" Arthur tried to stop his shivering, to keep Kiku from worrying and to get more time to talk with him before he was forced to go.

"Y-yeah, I'm al-alright." Arthur mentally hit himself, cursing his human body to not be able to handle the cold! To make matters worse for Arthur, Kiku wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure?" Kiku asked curiously.

"Y-w-well may-maybe I shou-should get, back, back into the b-boat. Maybe there'ss a b-blanket down b-below." Arthur shivered out before trying to scale the side of the boat, nearly falling into the water again making Kiku laugh to himself but still Kiku swam over to help Arthur get back into the boat. When Arthur was safely back in the boat he quickly went below deck and grabbed an old blanket and draped it over his shoulders like a shawl before returning to the edge of the boat to say goodbye to Kiku only to find him already gone. 'Oh well. I'll see him again tomorrow.' Arthur thought to himself trying to ward off the disappointment he felt driving the boat back to the shore, and onto the platform to bring it home.

lol again please guys don't kill me xD I'm skiddish with my work but I want compliments and critisism please and I couldn't resist to do this! And major kudos for my rp partner again for doing this with me and putting up with my obsessiveness for rp and my air-headedness lol and this is rated M for later chapters lol


	2. on land and sea

DAY 2

Okay peoples like I said in the last fanfiction this is basically a series I'm making and it'll keep going until my role-play partner has had enough of my rp the hell out of her xD or until we decide to end it so you readers don't get so bored of this so yeah, anyways I do promise it'll get better in the next one I swear by it peoples, guy on guy sexiness will ensue!...at one point!

Arthur scanned the beach, looking through every rock formation he came across, sliding in each just to be sure Kiku hadn't fallen asleep in them and he'd just missed him.

"Kiku? Kiku are you in here?" Arthur called into the small formation. This particular one was only just big enough for Arthur to fit himself into in search of his oceanic friend. He was about to leave said formation when he heard a familiar sleepy moan. Arthur continued through the small formation until he finally found the mer-man fast asleep, his crimson tail submerged in water, while his upper half was leaned up against a rock and head lolling to the side. Laughing to himself as he walked over to the sleeping figure, and kneeling down and gently nudged him

"Kiku. Kiku wake up." Kiku simply rolled over; only his arms wrapped themselves around Arthur and took him with their owner when he rolled over. Arthur was beet red, being held tightly by Kiku he'd never admit he wanted to stay like that aside from the cold water, but he also knew they had to go and if Kiku knew what he was doing Arthur didn't know how he'd react. The last thing Arthur wanted was to ruin his relationship with Kiku.

"K-KIKU! Wake, wake up!" The sleepy mer-man rolled again, this time facing so he and Arthur's faces were only inches apart, but the merman reluctantly opened his eyes soon after realizing he was holding Arthur so close. Kiku was blushing from ear to ear when he realized this and promptly let go of his friend.

"I-I'm sorry!" Kiku stammered embarrassedly, wanting so bad to just hide away and pretend like that hadn't happened.

"I-It's okay…I-I just…it was my fault for waking you, I should, I should have let you sleep…" Arthur said, trying and failing to stay calm. Kiku shook his head.

"N-no it's fine…" he said as he started to slip out of the cave-like formation and out into the open, with Arthur soon following him. When Arthur was out of the rocks he stretched out, his spine a little cramped form having to bend down like that for so long. Arthur looked out to the ocean, looking for Kiku who surfaced shortly near him.

"There you are." Arthur said, cracking his back once more before walking over to Kiku. Kiku nodded.

"Here I am~" he cooed, turning over in the water, swimming between Arthur's legs, making him trip into Kiku's arms

"W-whoa! K-Kiku!" Arthur cried, falling back, but Kiku caught Arthur in the water and swam to shore with him. "Thanks. But please don't do that again." Arthur complained standing in the shallows. Kiku nodded with an almost smug smile, starting to swim around Arthur again playfully, making Arthur smile again. He had so many questions for Kiku but he didn't know how to ask. But he didn't fret over it too much; he couldn't remember having so much fun before. The two played around in the sea water for hours, enjoying the other's company.

"Kiku… what's it like? Being a mer-person and all? What's it like where you live?" Arthur asked eventually as he lay in the sand beside Kiku in the shallows. Kiku gave Arthur a look.

"Well… it's quite boring. Almost everything is the same in the ocean… I don't really see why humans make such a fuss over it… I think the human world would be much more exciting." Arthur rolled onto his side to look at Kiku.

"Because we've never seen anything like it, and we can't see it all the time for ourselves. But as far as I'm concerned the human world isn't that great. Sure there's a lot to see but not a lot of good people, and even fewer who can see creatures like you." Kiku nodded, looking at the sky.

"… I'll have to go soon… I wish I didn't have to leave… Th-there's a lake by my house if you ever want to stay there for a break from the sea water or whatever…" Kiku offered Arthur a warm smile.

"Arigato… maybe some time I will… I do sometimes journey up a stream to a lake once a year..." Arthur looked at him

"R-really? There was a pass from the lake to the ocean but they filled it up a little while back. It's all houses now." Kiku blinked.

"I see…" Arthur sat up "I can borrow my brother's truck and I could drive you to the lake if you'd like." Kiku smiled again

"Hai… That sounds fine." Arthur smiled back this time. Happy to have not been turned down.

"So I'll talk to him tonight about borrowing his truck. When do you want to leave?" Kiku thought a moment.

"I can leave tomorrow if you'd like. I'll just have to gather a few things for the stay." Arthur nodded

"Alright. Tomorrow then." He stood up "Do you want me to help you back home?" Kiku shook his head

"No. I'll be fine. Farewell Arthur-san." He called as he crawled into the deeper water and started swimming off.

"Bye…" he called back to Kiku as he dove beneath the waves. lingering for a few moments more before turning to leave, bracing himself to face Alfred.


	3. The past will always return

Hey y'all, can't tell you guys how sorry I am for the wait, but things have been crazy and are getting worse, have less internet than before and less time to give than before! To write the story, yeah I may be able to multi-task but to post I get one day a week of internet, two if I'm lucky! But here it is, as promised, the next chapter of Against All Odds!

The sun was shining brightly through a bay window, hardly a cloud in the sky which was unusual in and of itself in England, but overall it seemed like a perfect day. One would never know of the turmoil coming from inside the house. Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, he knew it was now or never as he picked up his phone and called his youngest brother. Arthur half hopped he didn't answer, but at the same time he hopped he did answer. Either way Arthur prayed Alfred wouldn't ask many questions.

"Hey Iggy, bro, wassup man?! It's been forever since you called me!" Alfred yelled into the phone, causing Arthur to wince at the sudden loud voice in his ear and nearly fell out of his chair.

"Y-yes, but if you please Alfred I would appreciate it if you would not scream in my ear and also to refrain from calling me by those horrid nicknames you give me. My name is Arthur and I would like you to call me as such. But the main reason I called is I was wondering if I could borrow your truck for a bit, I'm moving a boat from the docks to my shed and my car is simply not strong enough and lacks the proper pieces to attach the boat's carrier."

"Uh sure bro, you can borrow my truck, but you need some help? Boats can be pretty heavy and you're not all that strong dude. So the hero can give you a hand!"

"NO!" Arthur yelled too quickly, mind racing for an excuse, "No, I mean, that's fine, I'm stronger than I look and I already have help, I just need the truck, I can leave you my car in exchange if you need transportation and I can pick it up when I give you your truck back, but I will need it again soon in case anything happens to the shed I'll be keeping it in." Arthur hopped his gullible younger brother would buy this.

"Dude why don't you just buy your own truck then now that you got that thing? It'd be easier than loaning you my truck all the time. Or just trade in your crappy car for a truck." Arthur sighed in relief, glad his brother asked no more questions.

"O-oh I didn't think of that, alright, but let me use your truck for now until I can, and my car is not a piece of crap as you so eloquently worded, it's an antique is all." Alfred laughed

"Yeah bro, that's fancy for piece of shit. But sure I'll still loan you my truck for now, when do you need it?"

"Today actually, I want to beat the crowds of people bringing their own boats in and it's such a beautiful day which is rare here so no time like now." He ranted, hoping it was still alright. Much to his luck Alfred agreed and Arthur quickly packed up a few things and left for Alfred's house.

Upon arriving at Alfred's house Arthur tried to make normal conversation but he was too excited so after exchanging keys and loading up the truck Arthur was gone having only talked when needed to be polite. He drove quickly to the beach to meet Kiku, finding him in the cave as usual sleeping soundly with his body half submerged in the cool ocean water. Arthur retreated and went to set up the boat over by the docks and prepared the truck, laying down a tarp in the bed of the truck and made sure it was secure before starting to fill it with water with some buckets he brought with him, he didn't fill it so Kiku could still get in and not much or any would spill over when the merman entered the truck's bed. When he was satisfied Arthur went back to wake up Kiku, gently shaking him,

"Kiku… Kiku darling I'm here, it's time to go before the beach gets crowded." Kiku groaned, opening one eye to sleepily glare at Arthur before sitting up with a yawn.

"Already time to go? Are you sure we must go now?" he almost whined, making Arthur laugh.

"Sadly love yes it's time to go, we don't need beach-goers seeing me haul a, what you would look like to them anyways, a giant fish into my youngest brother's truck and then start fishing like crazy to catch one like it." Kiku sulked again but complied, leaving the cave to swim by the docks and meet Arthur there.

"Alright now just haul yourself onto the dock and I can help you from there, I already have some water in the truck so we'll see if we can get you in and lose as little as possible." Kiku nodded, grabbing Arthur's hands and with the two of them working together they were able to get Kiku onto the deck, from there Arthur carefully picked Kiku up bridal style and hauled him up and into the bed of the truck. Kiku shivered at the cold of the shallow water at first but quickly got used to it, especially with Arthur coming back with a few more buckets of water to add to what was already in the truck.

"Comfortable love?" Arthur asked when he was done, only then noticing the woven seaweed bag of belongings.

"Hai. Thank you again Arthur." Kiku smiled, holding his bag tightly. Arthur nodded, grabbing a second tarp he had brought along to keep the water in the truck and to keep all wandering eyes out.

"I'm going to have to cover the top so the water stays in and no one can see you, and if you give me one moment I can make a handle so if things get bumpy you can hang on to that so you don't slide all around the bed and hurt yourself." Kiku nodded, he didn't like the idea of having to be covered like this but he trusted Arthur and knew that Arthur wouldn't do this if he didn't think it was for the best.

When all was said and done Arthur drove a bit faster than he usually did in his eagerness to get Kiku to the lake but was overly cautious in turning and stopping, frequently looking back to where Kiku was hiding worriedly. Kiku knew from the start he didn't like this kind of travel, the water was always moving as if a storm was going on outside and the noises of the traffic and the smell of exhaust made it that much worse. The jostling and hitting the sides of the truck even with the handle Arthur had put in for him didn't help either, he wanted this journey to be over as soon as possible. But the worst part was when the truck had to go over the uneven surface of Arthur's lawn to get to the lake. It was so bumpy Kiku thought for sure his tail would be badly bruised by the end of it all but finally it was over.

"Alright, we're here, I've parked as close as I can get to the lake without getting the truck stuck in the mud. Are you ready?" Arthur asked tentatively as he pulled back the tarp to see a very distressed looking Kiku still gripping the rope handle for dear life with his bag over his shoulder.

"Hai. Please get me out of here." Arthur tried not to laugh, he knew it was mean but just the way Kiku looked was adorable and to be honest he couldn't blame Kiku for hating the ride even though he tried to be careful. Arthur nodded and carefully unhooked the tarp Kiku was on top of and that kept the water from leaking out of the truck.

"Okay then, I'm going to have to let all the water drain out first so hang on to that handle until I tell you, then I want you to ease your way down to me and I'll carry you to the lake." Kiku nodded and gripped the rope harder until his knuckles were white but was still almost carried away by the force of the water leaving the truck and soaking the ground.

"It's cleared now Kiku, try easing your way down now and I'll catch you." Arthur calmly instructed the merman. Kiku opened his eyes and let go of the handle with one hand and grabbed the side of the truck before doing the same with the other hand, almost losing his grip but he somehow managed to keep his hold and slide down to Arthur. Carefully grabbing the merman's tail to pick him up bridal style again Arthur was awestruck by the feel of Kiku's tail as he struggled to bring him down to the lake's edge. To feel the bright red scales beneath his fingers, sliding easily when he followed their downward path they felt almost silky and he didn't ever want to let go, and the merman's skin was impossibly smoother. Arthur's hand discretely and gently fingered the flesh at the small of Kiku's back with admiration and fascination at the feel of it. Kiku was in a similar state at feeling the dry texture of Arthur's own skin and hair as his arms where locked tightly around Arthur's neck. Both men were so in their own worlds to the point Arthur almost slipped when he came up to the lake and almost dropped Kiku. Kiku clung tighter to Arthur out of shock when the human slipped and finally did fall into the murky shallows. The two men looked at one another and laughed before Kiku drifted a bit further into the water, giving Arthur a look and motioning for him to follow.

"Alright I'll come but at least let me get my swim trunks on first!" he laughed, more so when Kiku pouted cutely but nodded as Arthur turned to go to the house so he could change as he had stupidly forgotten to do in his haste.

Kiku sighed and swam about the lake, it had gotten a bit smaller since he had last been here but decided to get settled while Arthur changed. As Kiku was searching for a comfortable spot for his belongings something caught his eye. A bit of broken glass had caught a ray of sunshine somehow even at the bottom of the lake and Kiku's curiosity got the best of him as he decided to take a look but was amazed at what he found. It looked like a picture, and an old one at that so how it had survived under the water for any time period was fascinating for Kiku. Enthralled Kiku picked up the old photograph and gasped. The photo had four boys on it, three with varying shades of red hair and one with blonde hair. Kiku could have sworn it was Arthur but this boy was several years younger and had his ears pierced in several places and wore a torn Anarchy shirt(which Kiku didn't understand anything about besides it being an A in a circle). One of the tallest boys seemed to be trying to use the blonde boy as an ash tray while the second tallest one seemed to find both of them annoying while the third red head didn't seem to care about anything that was going on while a male and a female stood in the background smiling. The woman had blonde hair and blue eyes with a slender frame and face much like the blonde boy while the man was large and scary looking with red hair and green eyes. Kiku hadn't even realized how much time had passed while he was staring at the picture until he heard Arthur calling him and felt the ripples he created as he waded clumsily through the water. Kiku smiled and quickly swam up to Arthur with the photo excitedly hoping he would know the people in it or if the blonde boy really was Arthur and if it was why the picture was at the bottom of the lake.

Okay y'all so I know this is so not cool, I don't update for a year and then I give a short little shit of a chapter I'm sorry but I just wanted to have something up right now and I'm not feeling the greatest right now I had planned on doing more but I realized I was already a year late so I didn't have time for anything fancy, and just to get something up would be better than nothing. I will update before a year this time I swear it


	4. REVIEW CONTEST

**HEY Y'ALL OKAY SO I REALLY DON'T FEEL GOOD TODAY WHAT WITH MY BROKEN HEART COMING BACK TO HAUNT ME WITH A VENGANCE AND NONE OF MY FRIENDS REALLY TALKING TO ME(THEY MAY HAVE GOOD REASONS BUT IDK AND I'M A SOCIAL PERSON NO CONTACT IS BAD FOR ME WITH MY DEPRESSION) BUT I HAVE THOUGHT OF A WAY TO GET ME THE CONTACT I WANT WITH PEOPLE AND A DISTRACTION FROM THE HEARTBREAK, THE FIRST TWO PEOPLE TO REVIEW ON ANY NEW CHAPTERS OF MY STORIES I WILL WRITE THEM A FANFIC OF THEIR CHOOSING OF PLOT, CHARACTERS, AND FANDOM BUT IF IT'S FROM SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW YOU GOTTA GIVE ME SOME THINGS TO WORK WITH ON HOW IT IS AND ALL. BUT THIS UPDATE AND THE ONES I UPLOADED TODAY FOR AGAINST ALL ODDS AND THE WHAT HAPPENS AT SCHOOL NEW CHAPTER, I'LL UPDATE THOSE WITHIN A YEAR THIS TIME I SWEAR IT, IT WAS HAUNTING ME BUT WITH EVENTS AND MY MOOD DISORDER I'M NOT ALWAYS INSPIRED TO WRITE OR HAVE TIME TO POST. BUT ANYWAYS, THIS IS A NEW RULE TO KEEP ME GOING AND DISTRACTED, AND ALSO I GIVE YOU GUYS PERMISSION TO SPAM ME WITH PM'S OR REVIEWS IF I DON'T UPDATE WITHIN TWO MONTHS TOPS AND NO GOOD REASONS, BUT PLEASE DON'T BE OVERLY MEAN ABOUT IT GUYS THAT'S MY ONE CONDITION. FRUSTRATION WITH ME IS OKI BUT JUST BEING MEAN IS NOT AND I WILL CLOSE THE REVIEW STORIES AND PURPOSLY NOT UPDATE FOR ANOTHER YEAR THE FIRST TIME SOMEONE IS MEAN JUST FOR THE SAKE OF BEING MEAN. FEEDBACK ON STORIES IS FINE AND ACTUALLY WELCOME BUT PLEASE NO SWEARING ALLOWED IN SPAMS, NO VIRUSES(I PROBLY SPELT THAT WRONG BUT WHATEVER), NO THREATS, JUST SHOWING FRUSTRATION AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND BELOW ARE DEEMED ALRIGHT GUYS. SO, LET THE REVIEW CONTESTY THING BEGIN!**


	5. Different worlds

Arthur was starting to get worried when he didn't see any sign of Kiku after he called him. He continued to wade around then swim when it got deeper, still looking for Kiku until he was pushed underwater by a large wave. Gasping for air Arthur clawed to get to the surface and saw Kiku giggling over his little trick on one of the many above water rocks.

"That wasn't funny Kiku! I could have drowned!" Kiku frowned and shook his head,

"No, I would have saved you before that happened. I was watching, I only laugh now because the look on your face!" Arthur still wasn't amused, but almost forgot to keep swimming when he saw the picture in Kiku's hand.

"Where did you get that?" Arthur asked as he swam a little closer, grabbing onto the rock so he could clamber on it to join Kiku.

"At the bottom of the lake. Is this your family? And is this you?" Kiku asked, pointing to the picture and then the blonde haired boy in the picture.

"Yes and yes, but that picture was there for a reason." he growled, trying to get it back. Kiku held tight to the picture and kept it out of Arthur's reach.

"Why Arthur?" he asked, slipping off the rock to protect the picture, "Why was it in the lake at all?" he pestered, Arthur's reaction making him all the more curious, he knew human photos where never supposed to get wet like this.

"Because I threw it in the lake! It's nothing but bad memories for me! My father was an arse and my mother never cared, and my brothers all hated my guts!" Kiku was shocked at this, almost losing the picture when he forgot to move it away from Arthur.

"What?" Arthur sighed, sitting fully on the rock again, hugging his knees to his chest.

"I never fit in with my family. I wasn't strong like my brothers and looked weak like my mother so my father hated me and my brothers were all taught to hate me." Kiku blinked, hardly believing what he was hearing(AN:/ I know if you have read my other stories I always seem to be giving Arthur a dark past but it just makes it easier to explain why he is the way he is and to be frank I'm good at writing sad things).

"Arthur... I lost my parents when I was very young so my brother raised me and our younger siblings himself but... eventually I rebeled so he would think of me as an adult and no longer a child and now... now he hates me. So I know how it feels to have a family member hate you..." Arthur looked at Kiku shocked. He wasn't surprised someone else knew the feel but for it to be Kiku who was so nice. It hardly made sense for him to have had a bad past too.

"Kiku... I'm so sorry..." Kiku shook his head.

"Don't be. Things happen." Arthur nodded sadly as he looked at the old picture again, then at Kiku.

"I... I suppose if... if you really want this old thing..." Kiku looked at Arthur who was skittishly handing over the picture.

"Arigato Arthur-san!" he beamed, Arthur blushing as he tried not to seem mushy about it. Kiku held the photo close to him, diving down to put it in a cave he knew of that had a small air pocket for the picture to stay safe. When he returned from the depths of the lake he saw Arthur laying on his stomach on the rocks. Smirking Kiku started to sneak up on the unsuspecting Brit, reaching the rocks before Arthur spoke;

"Kiku? Do you ever think... do you think I could become like you?" he asked, not looking at him. Kiku was shocked to say the least at the question but also how Arthur knew he was there without even looking up. Sitting on the rocks beside the Brit Kiku chose his words carefully.

"I suppose, but there really isn't too much to brag about." Arthur turned to look at the merman then

"How could you think that? Your world is far more interesting than mine! And much bigger, I mean, over seventy-five percent of the whole bloody Earth is made up of water!" Kiku sighed, he had known Arthur wouldn't really understand.

"But most of it looks the same, same coral, same seaweed, different fish and merfolk but other than that... only caves and shipwreaks are really interesting beyond that. Your world from what I have seen of it varies so much, it seems much more interesting." Arthur scoffed.

"Most things up here get boring really fast and almost no one is nice." Arthur sighed, leaning back a little to look at the sky. Kiku sighed

"Not many are nice in my world either..." Arthur shook his head.

"You would think there could be some more nice people somewhere... I still sort of wish there was a way for us to experience the other's world..." Kiku nodded, he knew a sea witch could help but it was never easy to bargain with them or pay them back so he stayed quiet. "Maybe I can find something in one of my spell books..."

short as frigg I know and I am so sorry I am just under stress and posting chapters and a new story and now I have senior stuff to do I'm sorry I'm trying guys I really am!


	6. Switch

Arthur kept searching this was his second day straight looking for any spell or potion that might help he and Kiku. So far there was nothing and he was begining to lose all hope in ever finding a solution. But as he put down what seemed to be the millionth book he found something. He scanned it over several times before he got his hopes up, then he looked to see if he had the ingredients, listing them off as he checked.

"three ounces of powdered unicorn horn, one eye of newt, one hallowed dragon's fang, four poppy seeds, six ounces of liquid witch hazel, and two moonstones" he was glad to find he had everything he needed but then he saw something else he didn't quite like

"Something of what you wish to transform into." Arthur frowned at this. It meant he had to give something for Kiku's potion which he didn't mind so much as Kiku having to give something for his own potion. Slightly guilty Arthur went down to the lake with the book in hand to tell Kiku this disturbing find. He sat on the lake shore by the shallows and tossed a small pebble into the water.

"Kiku?" he called, forcing his voice to stay free of the worry he felt as Kiku surfaced and swam up beside him smiling happily.

"Did you find something or did you want to play today~?" he asked, obviously in a good mood. Arthur swallowed.

"I found something and I don't like it." Kiku gave Arthur a curious look as he continued, "You need a sample of the being you wish to temporarily transform into. The transformation will last three days but as I said it needs a sample of what you want to become. So blood from me, but from you either blood or a scale would work." Kiku nodded, turning over he quickly plucked a single scale from his crimson tail and handed it to Arthur with a smile.

"Don't fret so much, I trust you Arthur. You are not like the humans I have heard about in stories." Arthur choked. He was touched by such a praise from the merman he was coming to love.

"Thank you... I just wish I was worthy of your trust..." he said sadly, Kiku shook his head disaprovingly.

"You are worthy of it Arthur. You saved my life, and you have taken me here despite having a chance to sell me or worse, you kept your word and you have done much to make sure I am safe and happy." Arthur sighed, taking the scale and holding it gently as if with one wrong move it would shatter, and take his world with it. He wished more than anything he could tell Kiku how much his trust and affection meant to him but there were no words even in his vast vocabulary to describe it.

"I hope you're right..." he sighed, turning away to create the potions for them.

* * *

><p>HELLO TIME SKIP<p>

* * *

><p>They were finally done and ready to be tested. Arthur was exausted as he brought two vials out to the shallows of the lake. One resembled some kind of toxic snot, while the other looked like someone ate a bunch of glitter then had diarrhea in the bottle. Neither looked very appitizing but Arthur was convinced they'd work.<p>

"Kiku, they're ready." he called, trying not to sound as tired as he felt. Smiling as he saw Kiku surface and swim towards him eagerly.

"They are?" he asked, using his arms to pull himself closer to Arthur.

"They are. They will last about three days from the moment we take them. This one is for you." he said handing Kiku the vial of green liquid. Kiku nodded, smiling up at Arthur.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Arthur nodded

"As I'll ever be." he replied before downing his own vial. Kiku nodded and drank his own, and as soon as it was down he swore he was going to throw them up until he felt a searing pain in his tail. Arthur by then had fallen onto the sand in pain as his legs merged into one tail, at first stopped by his pants until Arthur quickly removing them as he hopped futily that Kiku wasn't in as much pain as he felt with his transformation. But while Arthur felt his bones melding into one and changing to create a tail, Kiku felt his ripping apart and changing to create legs and feet. As to who felt the most pain through this is hard to say, but when it was over both felt great amounts of relief as they looked quickly to the other to see that they were ok before looking themselves over to see the changes. Arthur now had a long jade colored tail, and at the end of the tail his fins seemed to be longer than Kiku's had been and was slightly wavier on the edge. Kiku now had two legs with feet and toes attached to them, both were excitedly moving their new limbs for a while before they remembered that the other hadn't the feintest clue on how to use theirs other than moving it. When Kiku tried to stand he had only managed to get to his knees before he stumbled, the loose sand making it harder than it should have been on the new human. Arthur was slightly beached in the shallows similar to how Kiku had been the day they met, the only difference was Kiku knew how to fix that and Arthur didn't. Knowing his problem would take longer to get used to Arthur turned to Kiku to try and coach him through learning how to stand and walk.

"Kiku, hold on a moment. Come over here, there are some rocks you can hold on to to help you get up. Sand like this is some of the hardest terrain humans have to walk on if for no other reason other than the fact it has no real traction or friction." Kiku nodded, and crawled slightly to the rocks Arthur mentioned, using both arms to hoist himself up as he would have when he was a merman and was going to sit on the rocks.

"Good, now to walk you just move one leg forward, and then move the other forward after." Kiku nodded again and keeping his hold on the rocks he unsteadily moved one leg forward. Arthur smiled at his progress, trying to get a feel for his new tail as Kiku wobbled about happily on the sand. WHen Kiku noticed Arthur's struggles he stopped by the rocks again and helped him.

"It's all one bone, just move it up and down when you're in the water and in the opposite direction of where you want to turn." he explained, stumbling carefully over to try and help Arthur get deeper into the shallows until he could swim on his own. Kiku only ended up falling into the water a couple of times before Arthur was swimming deep into the lake. Arthur couldn't believe it. He had a mertail and he was a merman. Arthur hadn't felt so free in years. Kiku was in the same ecstatic state, happily feeling the sand and grass between his new toes, breathing in the new air deeply. To both men, everything now felt so different and both were enjoying it to the fullest. But after a while the both of them remembered the other and met in the shallows. Kiku shivered at how different the water felt to him as a human, and Arthur looked up to him "I don't know merpeople's eating habits but humans have to eat three times a day, once in the morning, once in the middle of the day, and one towards the end of the day." Kiku nodded.

"Merpeople are similar, but we mostly just eat when we are hungry. But try not to stay out or above water for too long or you may start to dehydrate." Arthur sighed happily.

"Got it. And we have to be here again in sixty two hours." Arthur looked up at Kiku again and blushed when he realized Kiku was naked. He had never thought about it before because he seldom saw all of Kiku's tail, and it was much different from having legs and his equipment not being hidden. Arthur quickly looked away and pointed to the shorts he had been wearing "Y-you may want to put some clothes on though... Human thing..." Kiku looked curiously at the shorts, wondering why Arthur was blushing until he looked down and saw that humans didn't hide. He blushed a scarlet to match the tail he lost as he tried to figure out how to work the shorts. Arthur instructed him through it when he saw Kiku was having difficulty, and told him what he needed to know about the house to get in, and keep strangers from getting in as well. He told Kiku about the bed, and what to be careful of and what could help him. Kiku did the same but there was much less to worry about in the lake than there was back in the ocean so in many ways Arthur had it easier than Kiku. But now they both had to try. They said their goodnights and parted ways, Kiku clumsily and very carefully navigated to the bedroom Arthur told him about after exploring a little. The bed was so much more comfortable than what he was used to, and all he could smell was Arthur. Arthur did the best he could and made a bed at the bottom of the lake, looking up to the water's surface and thought "So far the only thing I miss is the stars."


End file.
